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Friday, October 20, 2006

For a great new way to attract more traffic to your blog and earn cash in the process, read on.

Now that I've been on Gather.com for a few weeks, I just have to tell you how I use it, and what I think.

How it beganWhen I signed up to buzz Gather.com, I was very apprehensive. Gather is a free social networking site, and when I think social networking, I think Myspace. *twitch* We've all seen how the ability to fully edit member pages has made the entire site slow to load, busy, loud, garish, spam-filled, noisy, and overall really annoying. But I was willing to give Gather a try anyway, and I'm really glad I did.

Overall opinionI'm actually really liking it! It's so much nicer than Myspace. The pages load faster, there's real conversation and communication, not just a popularity contest to see who can get the biggest network of friends/contacts, I've met a bunch of new friends, had a lot of great conversations, and, well... Yeah. I really like it. *nod*

How it worksYou behave on Gather as you would on the blogosphere, but with added bonuses. Some people just post pictures, some just post articles, others post nothing at all, but join in the conversation via comments, and some folks do it all and more! Everyone earns Gather Points for being an active part of the community.

Show me the moneyGather points are great. For every bit of content a person adds to Gather, they receive points. The more interaction that content gets (the more enjoyable it is), the more points it receives. Points can be exchanged for cash, or gift certificates for participating companies. Common ploy, right? Not quite. You can also give your points as a donation to non-profits who have partnered with Gather to really make a difference. That's an option I can live with.

More stuffAdd to that the articles, pictures, and even comments that are showcased on the front page regularly, contests, games, the built-in social bookmarking, and even the opportunity to have your short story published by Amazon.com, attend a GATHERing, and there is a hearty bit of community being built here.

Get creativeI personally think of it as an extension of my bloglife where I can post my best articles, get new writing challenges to hone my skills, garner additional feedback and commentary on my posts while meeting even more people than I would usually, and possibly even get some nice traffic directed to my blog. *smile*